Last modified on January 11, 2023, at 04:42

Social media censorship

Social media companies including Facebook and Twitter have long been accused of censoring opinions that oppose the left.

Background

At a July 2020 congressional hearing, Jim Jordan stated, "Big Tech is out to get conservatives."[1][2] He constructed a timeline of examples during which social media giants censored conservative viewpoints.[1]

Twitter

Main article: Fact-checking

In 2018 Matt Gaetz claimed that he and three other senators - Jim Jordan, Devin Nunes, and Mark Meadows - were "shadowbanned" on Twitter, while Twitter claimed the incident was an error.[3]

A commentary article on the moderate political website RealClearPolitics written in April 2020 criticized Facebook and Twitter's fact-checking methods. It criticized Twitter in particular for defining "acceptable speech" and "steadily constraining ever further the kinds of thoughts and commentary it allows". The RCP article repeatedly mentioned that Twitter declined to comment.[4]

Facebook

In September 2019 The Federalist published an article criticizing Facebook's censorship tactics.[5] According to the report by The Federalist, an organization by the name of Science Feedback had claimed that two pro-life videos were "false"; and Facebook responded by warning the group responsible for the videos, Live Action, and reducing the organization's Facebook "distribution".[5] After a post commenting on a Glenn Beck interview was censored by the social media company, Facebook refused to respond to requests for comment.[5]

Facebook created an "Oversight Board" in its efforts it alleges will combat hate speech; the action was criticized by the New York Post editorial board in May 2020.[6] Among the appointed members of the board are Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of the far-left The Guardian, and Jamal Greene, a former aide for Kamala Harris.[6] The article implied that the Oversight Board may become "thought police."[6]

In January 2022 Facebook banned the account of the Russian delegation to the Vienna military security and arms control talks.[7]

Ties to cancel culture

The "Cancel Culture" movement took place during the coronavirus crisis and left-wing violence of 2020, aiming to end all of what the left defines as "hate speech" in a 1984-like totalitarian power grab.[8] An article in USA Today stated, "Twitter has become a powerful court of public opinion and 'cancel culture' plays a role," and the article outlined the connections between social media giants and cancel culture.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/29/jim-jordan-cites-censorship-of-breitbart-news-as-one-reason-big-tech-is-out-to-get-conservatives/
  2. ↑ https://www.c-span.org/video/?474236-1/heads-facebook-amazon-apple-google-testify-antitrust-law
  3. ↑ https://truepundit.com/rep-gaetz-twitter-deliberately-targeting-me-nunes-meadows-jordan-for-shadowbanning/
  4. ↑ https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/04/28/new_twitter_censorship_rules_raise_transparency_questions_143049.html
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/03/despite-denial-bias-facebook-continues-censor-pro-life-conservative-content/
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 https://nypost.com/2020/05/07/facebooks-new-supreme-court-looks-like-a-license-to-censor/
  7. ↑ https://tass.com/politics/1388779
  8. ↑ https://www.rollcall.com/2020/07/29/with-silencing-of-speech-is-america-entering-orwellian-territory/
  9. ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/07/17/has-twitters-cancel-culture-gone-too-far/5445804002/